Does anyone else here like Ralph McTell's Streets of London track? I think it's a brilliant feel-good song.

I have written the lyrics for you - so there's no copyright issue:

Have you seen the old man
In the closed-down market
Kicking up the paper,
with his worn out shoes?
In his eyes you see no pride
And held loosely at his side
Yesterday's paper telling yesterday's news

So how can you tell me you're lonely,
And say for you that the sun don't shine?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something to make you change your mind

Have you seen the old girl
Who walks the streets of London
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags?
She's no time for talking,
She just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home in two carrier bags.

So how can you tell me you're lonely,
And say for you that the sun don't shine?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something to make you change your mind

In the all night cafe
At a quarter past eleven,
Same old man is sitting there on his own
Looking at the world
Over the rim of his tea-cup,
Each tea last an hour
Then he wanders home alone

So how can you tell me you're lonely,
And say for you that the sun don't shine?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something to make you change your mind

And have you seen the old man
Outside the seaman's mission
Memory fading with
The medal ribbons that he wears.
In our winter city,
The rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero
And a world that doesn't care

So how can you tell me you're lonely,
And say for you that the sun don't shine?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something to make you change your mind

"Everyone writing for the Telegraph knows that the way to grab eyeballs is with Ryanair and/or sex."

Does anyone else here have a desperate urge to violently murder each and every busker on the Underground who sings this poxy song?

Why is it that they only have a reperoire of three songs, including this one with apparently new and interminable verses with lots "Mmm, hmm, mmm" bits in it, interspersed with "Thank you very much" whenever it looks like he might have to say a word. Is there some deal I don't know about, whereby people give money if only he'll stop singing THE STREETS OF FUCKING LONDON EVERY 2 MINUTES.

And then when he does stop singing that one, he moves onto bloody Elton John, and you just know he's going to do Candle in the Wind with the puke-inducing Princess Diana lyrics, and you look around and every single commuter has broken into a run to get away from him, only to find that his mate, or brother round the corner really is singing from the same hymn sheet because by the time you get to him you find it's all in synch and you're actually going to be there in time for the next line.

Oh, and whilst I'm on the subject, the dog has a better voice than you, Mr Busker, and there's also a damn good reason why no-one - and I mean no-one - has had a lengthy musical career playing 9 instruments at the same time: Because it means you do them all really badly. Are you such a Billy-No-Mates that you don't have someone else who could join you? Have they all shot themselves because of you playing Streets of London to them for the 400th time?

And when you do try to play the mouth organ, one out of key blast on the harp does not mean you can play the bloody thing.

Quoting Banco (Reply 1):Does anyone else here have a desperate urge to violently murder each and every busker on the Underground who sings this poxy song?

Yes

So you enjoyed your day travelling on the tube today then Banco ?

The one thing that is FAR worse however are the buskers that get onto the Piccadilly line tubes on the Heathrow branch. I had to run that gauntlet every day in one of my old jobs and there you have NO escape from them - and they tend to be even more shockingly bad

This might be a post for the things that annoy you thread going on at the moment

Just when I thought I could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was some B*****d with a torch bringing me more work

Quoting Cornish (Reply 3):So you enjoyed your day travelling on the tube today then Banco ?

Well, put it this way: I hate the Tube, for all the above reasons. So, I decided, since it as a nice day, to walk up to Piccadilly from Victoria. That was my first mistake. How was I to know it was Changing of the bloody Guard at Buckingham Palace today?

Quoting Cornish (Reply 4):Not that it represents any streets of London I've ever walked

So, naturally, everyone's awfully rich, living an unbelievably good life. Open your eyes. No-one's lonely, on their own... There's no homeless, desperate people. Just like there's no poverty or aids in the world.

Your comment is quite possibly the stupidest I've read for a long time.

[Edited 2006-01-26 18:35:52]

"Everyone writing for the Telegraph knows that the way to grab eyeballs is with Ryanair and/or sex."

Er. Individuals maybe, but this was the whole changing of a regiment thing. with them marching down the Mall playing Colonel Bogey, with tourists apparently trying to hold back the entire tide of humanity so that they can take a photo with their arm round a policemen - who's desperately trying to hide the semi-automatic he's carrying behind his back...

Quoting Pe@rson (Reply 7):So, naturally, everyone's awfully rich, living an unbelievably good life. Open your eyes. No-one's lonely, on their own... There's no homeless, desperate people. Just like there's no poverty in them world.

No of course I don't think that, and yes I'm well aware of the awful poverty some people have to live in and realise how lucky I am.

Who gives a toss about London anyway? It's full of tramps, business people who live outside of London and cheeky Cockney gits and the Royal Family.
The World would be better off without London IMO The 8 million who live there should be deported to France

When you hear the noise of the Tartan Army Boys, we'll be coming down the road!

Quoting Banco (Reply 8):with tourists apparently trying to hold back the entire tide of humanity so that they can take a photo with their arm round a policemen - who's desperately trying to hide the semi-automatic he's carrying behind his back...

Apart from the Brazilian tourists of course who'll be keeping their distance

I'll get my coat.....

Just when I thought I could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was some B*****d with a torch bringing me more work

Quoting Skidmarks (Reply 27):Well, James, we finally know how to REALLY piss Banco off!! If he ever attends a meet - we just hire a busker to sing outside his hotel room until he pays us loads of money!!

"Everyone writing for the Telegraph knows that the way to grab eyeballs is with Ryanair and/or sex."

Quoting Skidmarks (Reply 27):Well, James, we finally know how to REALLY piss Banco off!! If he ever attends a meet - we just hire a busker to sing outside his hotel room until he pays us loads of money!!

I suspect attending one of your spotters meets would be punishment enough for Banco

Just when I thought I could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was some B*****d with a torch bringing me more work